How are we going to get out of this? We have an army of undead all around and god knows where we are! I know that there is little to no chance of us surviving, even if we make it through this challenge, there will just be another waiting for us. And while the enemy grows with each fallen survivor our numbers only grow smaller, and our resources dwindle more and more. What’s the point in fighting, if there’s no hope of victory?

Pages

Sunday, February 7, 2016

“They
deserve to know,” She argued, but I could tell she was conflicted too

“True,
but if I tell them now they’ll argue, some might even want to leave him behind,
or worse,” I played out the scenario in my head, it never ended well no matter
what I would say. Eventually Nicole agreed with me, we had to keep moving
forward, but to what end I had no idea. Haven was safe for now, but if our
theories were true and the dead could sense us from miles away no one location
would be safe, not forever. I kept remembering those theories I had before all
this, ideas for the perfect hide out. But even if one of them could protect us
indefinitely, we couldn’t build it in time, and it was more than unlikely that
we’d stumble upon one in the suburbs. But it wasn’t for just me to decide, for
the first time in a while we had the opportunity to reunite everyone together
in one place. They had put their trust in me as a leader, not a dictator, and
now I understand the importance of that title. If the decision had to be made,
it would be made by all of us

.

…

The cars
were loaded up with as much as we could take, so we couldn’t drive as fast as
we wanted to, not to mention the danger posed by the remnants of the zombie
horde. But after a few hours we made it, we found the others. Once again people
starting jumping out of cars before they had fully stopped, too anxious to
reunite with their friends to wait. Connor and Will wouldn’t stop smiling and
laughing as they examined they damage that had been done to the cars. Chris and
Monica shared a friendly smile, although Monica seemed even happier to be
handed the extra ammo. Malcolm and Andria had already reunited, but the still
kept close to one another, I had forgotten they were friends before all this.

I was
smiling, we were all smiling, until Nicole turned to me, her smile fading, “where’s
Brooke?”

…

We had
lost someone before, but I was dismayed, yet slightly comforted, that it wasn’t
easier the second time around. I explained everything that had happened at the
station, the resistance, Anthony, everyone who had died. I introduced Lindsey
to the others, but I was not surprised she did not receive a warm welcome, the circumstances
were fair from pleasant. Lauren cried freely, Chris comforted her silently.
Will walked off, and Connor followed him, Daniel as well a little later. It wasn’t
until they returned and the other’s settled down that I spoke again, “We have
to decide what comes next, whether we return to Haven, and try to make it
perfect”-

“But it
never will be,” Chris finished, “no amount of wooden beams and barbed wire
could stop what we just saw”

“Exactly,
but the alternative is not very appealing either,” Nicole argued, “Previously
we had a purpose, find our friends, find medicine, find a home. But what do we
do if we can’t find a home, where do we go?”

“What
was it like in the resistance?” Will asked Lindsey, “travelling with little
destination in mind?”

“It
worked,” she began, trying to sound encouraging, “but we had huge trucks, with
shipping crates large enough for dozens of people and equipment, we were even
trying to experiment with hydroponics”

“We have
two cars and a Ute,” Connor said bluntly, “that’s hardly enough to live place
to place”

“He’s
right,” Nicole agreed, “without those kinds of resources we’d have no chance.”

We all
segmented into smaller groups, arguing over what was best. I tried to find the
answer in my own head, a home would never work without a massive amount of luck
and manpower, and we had neither. But living on the road would only end in
disaster to, it would destroy our mental and physical health, and resources would
always be a problem. If we stayed in one area we’d know all the dangers but
eventually run out of food, and if we ventured out too far we would have no
idea what we’d be heading into. If we had the same resources the resistance had
we wouldn’t have to worry about running into trouble, we’d have the manpower to
stop it. And if their experiments bore literal fruit we wouldn’t have to worry
about food. Without realising it I stumbled upon the answer. “We’ll join the
resistance,” I said finally, and eventually everyone agreed.

…

Before
we lit the signal we wanted to be ready, and we knew we’d have to replace the
Ute with one with an intact windshield, so Daniel and Monica went out on foot
to find one. The others sorted out the supplies, between what we had gathered
from Lindsey’s father’s house and what we had kept from Haven there was quite a
bit. I sat in the old Ute’s passenger seat, trying to get some rest. Part of me
wanted to be with Jade, but I was far too exhausted, and she always seemed to
be full of energy. Nicole stunned me out of my nap by hopping into the driver’s
seat and slamming the door, a sour look on her face. “Are you okay?” I asked
drowsily, I was tired but concerned, Nicole usually kept the spirits up, not
dragged them down

“I’m
fine,” she snapped back

“You
sure sound it,” I replied sarcastically

“It’s
nothing it’s just,” her sour mood broke into sadness, “it’s them,” she gestured
out to the others, smiling and laughing as they examined our supplies and
planned their life with the resistance. “They’re happy,” I said confused, “is
that a problem?”

“No,”
she sighed back, “I want them to be happy, but… Brooke is dead,” we were both
quiet for a long time, “maybe I’m just bad at moving on but I don’t feel like
laughing right now”

“No one
expects you to,” I tried to be soothing

“Well tell
them that,” the sour face was back, “that’s it.”

She
turned the key and the engine roared to life. The others outside looked up in
confusion, but I faked a smile and with a gesture they want back to their conversations.
I was worried she was going to try and drive away so I prepared to grab her
hand, but she didn’t reach for the handbrake, she reached for the radio. “You
won’t get anything you know,” I almost laughed

“I’ll
get white noise,” she replied sarcastically, “enough to drown them out.” And
she was right, teeth-grating static came through, and Nicole smiled grimly at
the look on my face. As a joke she pretended to scan through the channels, pretending
to judge each one before moving on. This time I really laughed, but I did go to
stop her, “you’re gonna waste the fuel.” But she knocked my hand away and
shushed me, as she turned the volume up, and listened carefully. A voice came crackling
through the radio, impossibly.

It was
the end of a message, and I thought we had missed it, until it began again on a
loop, “Hello my name is Lewis Carter, and if you can hear this, you are not
alone.” The fact that someone was out there broadcasting on the radio was
crazy, but true. The others eventually heard the sound of a voice and came running
over, about to speak until the heard the message and realised. The message didn’t
end there, “I’m in Melbourne, near the centre, and I’m working with Doctor”-
the message cut out for a moment and I could hear another female voice, then
the male voice again but neither were distinguishable. But then it became clear
again, “we are working with other’s to find a cure, we are at Gordon Centre,
and if you know where that it is you know enough about science to help us.” I
turned to Nicole, and she nodded in recognition, Lewis spoke again “we are safe
there, I repeat we are safe...” the message paused for a while, “come to GC if
you can help, this our last chance, this message will repeat on this frequency.”

We all
stood in stunned silence and listened to the message twice more before Nicole
turned the engine off. Was it possible? Somehow, somewhere there were people
working on a cure, was a cure even possible? Nicole insisted she wouldn’t be
able to help, and argued that we stuck to the original plan, but she was
outvoted. Eventually I convinced her that even if she couldn’t help being close
to a possible cure would be important. The only issue was the trip there, and
the location. Everyone with common sense knew that the city would be swarming
with the dead, and if we wasted fuel and supplies to get to the place where we
died it I would never forgive myself. So we waited until Monica and Daniel
returned with the new Ute to put it to an official vote.

Over the
past months since we left the clinic my leadership skills were tested, if I
even had any to begin with. But even if I didn’t I had to believe that I
developed some, otherwise every bad thing that has happens is my fault, and I
couldn’t live with that. And if my guidance leads us to a gruesome death in the
city I would have no one else to blame. Except maybe this guy Lewis. But if I
lead them to our salvation, maybe for once I can be sure, that I am the right
leader for these people. My friends, no they’re more than that now, my family.
I would do everything to protect them, even if that meant stepping down and letting
someone else take control, but for now I was their leader. And I won’t let them
down.

They returned, we voted and then we left. Headed
towards Melbourne, headed towards our fate. And possibly the fate of the entire
world. Or what was left of the world now gone.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

My heart
was beating fast in my chest, I felt like I was still surrounded by the dead.
But instead of being afraid I felt excited, and anxious. We were close to the
warehouse, in a moment we would see it, but there was still the possibility
that the others didn’t make it back alive. I didn’t know what I would do if
they didn’t, how I would be able to go on. Without Jade any hope I had of
having any meaningful future was gone. That was why I worried so much, it was
one of the reasons why I left her here. I thought she would be safe, but know I
wonder whether she would’ve been safer with me, even when we were trapped in
the station.

We
turned the final corner, and then it seemed like my heart had stopped beating
entirely, they were alive. Just like us the car, as well as its passengers, was
worse for wear, covered in blood and the windscreen was smashed. They hadn’t
noticed us yet, I saw Chris cleaning chunks of flesh off the car, and as we
approached Daniel exited the warehouse, his arms full of supplies they had left
behind. But I couldn’t see Jade. My mind flooded with all the possibilities,
was she inside? Was she left behind? Was she even alive? But all my questions
were answered, along with a small heart attack, when the windscreen shattered,
showering the bonnet with glass. Inside I could see Jade holding a baseball
bat.

Before
they noticed us I saw the three of them arguing, but when they finally did they
stopped, and ran to greet us. The doors slid open before we’d even stopped and
Lauren dashed out towards Chris. I barely registered their reunion, or that of
Daniel, Will, and Nicole, my eyes searched for Jade. I finally saw her as she
stepped out of the Ute, and I found myself running towards her faster than I ran
away from the dead. We collided and it hurt because of our injuries, but
neither of us cared. I held her close, almost crying. I treasured every moment,
everything. Every scent, sight, and touch felt new and familiar at the same
time, and I never wanted to let her go. But I had too, and after pulling back
and laughing better than we had for years we all met at the back of the Ute.

“How did
you guys go getting away?” Will started

“Better
than we expected if I’m being honest,” Daniel answered, “the windscreen got
smashed when we hit one full on, but we were able to keep the rest away with
sticks”

“We
fired as few rounds as possible,” Jade added, trying to keep our eyes from
meeting in case we never looked away, “once we had their attention we didn’t
want to get any more, what about you guys?”

“Well…
um…” Will replied nervously, still traumatised by his near miss

“We ran
into a bit of trouble,” Nicole said gently, we knew what had to be discussed,
even if we didn’t want to discuss it

“Will
might be infected,” Lauren blurted out, she apparently didn’t not have as much
tact as Nicole

“What?”
Daniel and Jade reacted at once

“He got
covered in glass,” I explained, looking unsympathetically at Lauren, “and the
glass was covered in blood”

“Infected blood,” Will emphasised.

I was
more than worried about Will, and not just about his health. In the past experiences
with the Dead have either shattered his confidence, or strengthened his, well
his will, Will’s will. And this was a similar time, and right now we all needed
to be strong, I couldn’t afford to have him lose his strength right now, this
had to be dealt with now. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” I began, using my
best leader voice, “Nicole and are going into Haven to check Will out, when we
come out we will decide what to do, until then you guys need to do everything you
can to fix the cars.” And then I gestured to Will and Nicole and walked away,
ignoring anything the others said in protest. Inside the warehouse looked very
different than it did before, more like a home. I didn’t feel bad about
abandoning it before, but now seeing what the others have done with it I did.
The three of us stepped into what remained of Nicole’s first aid area. “I
appreciate the support Todd, but I think you should leave,” Will suggested
sheepishly

“No, I’m
here to help,” I insisted, wondering why he asked, then almost as an answer
Nicole turned around and spoke

“Alright
Will, take of your clothes,” She was all business

I was a
little less professional, “I’m gonna go,” I said quickly and ducked under the heavy
sheets blocking the view. As I turned to leave the warehouse I was stopped by
Jade. “Why aren’t you outside?” I asked, although I was happy she wasn’t

“Because,”
was all she said, as she pushed me towards the beds.

…

We had
almost died, and Will might be infected, but somehow I felt happier than I had
felt in a long time. Although we might be abandoning the warehouse, I knew that
as long as we were together I would be home. After an hour and a half of work
we were satisfied with the work we had done on the cars. I knew at some point
we would have to replace the Ute with one that had a windshield, but it would
get us back to the others. And we had found a strong clear plastic sheet to
replace the window we had broken to save Will. We also used a few buckets of
water from a nearby pond to clean most of the blood and guts from the cars,
although they were hardly sparkling. Both cars were covered in dints and
scratches, but they were still in one piece. Everything was packed and ready to
go, finally we were going to be together again, and everything would be okay.
Until Nicole and Will walked out from the warehouse, and they were both deathly
pale. “Nicole?” I asked, fearing what she would say

She
leaned in close, so only I could hear, “Will’s got a cut on his leg, it was
small but there was blood. I can’t know for sure, but its possible Will is
infected.”